explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1577: Advent

2015-09-14T23:43:35Z

198.41.243.249:

16800 squares counted, corresponding to a projected lifespan of 46 years. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.124|108.162.225.124]] 04:09, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

This description says "64 small drawers" but each of the small drawer sets contains 70. 7 columns, 10 rows. (Then there are 20 columns of drawer sets, and 12 rows.) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.115|199.27.133.115]] 04:54, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Same counting here, I changed the description. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.160|199.27.133.160]] 05:07, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Use × not x. (Editing with this phone is really hard.) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.171|173.245.55.171]] 05:13, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

I corrected the number of drawers ((70×12×20)÷365.25≈50) then used that calculation to work out Cueball's approximate age.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 06:36, 14 September 2015 (UTC)
:Note that (70×12×20)÷365.25≈46. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.154|173.245.50.154]] 12:32, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Reminds me on the [http://store.waitbutwhy.com/collections/life-calendars Life calendar] from this [http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/life-weeks.html Wait but why post] [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:54, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

There is a (common) mistake in the life expectancy calculation in the description. If the life expectancy in the US is 75.9, then that doesn't mean you expected remaining life at 25 will be 50.9 years - otherwise that would imply no-one dies under 25. Since, sadly, many people do die before their 25th birthday, the life expectancy remaining at 25 will be somewhat larger than 50 years. As these tables show: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html 50 years remaining corresponds roughly to an age of 27-28. In other words your remaining life expectancy drops by less than one year per year, if no new information is presented (i.e. assuming you don't take up smoking etc.) {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.205}}

There's a link in this explanation stating that the life expectancy refers back to comic 1070. I think this may be the wrong comic, not sure what the correct one should be :/ [[User:apbarratt|apbarratt]] 09:17, 14 September 2015 (UTC)
This is about the title text that mentions "The few dozen doors". 1070 explains that "a few" for most people seems to be anything more than one but at most five.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.97|173.245.49.97]] 11:07, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

What struck me about the comic, and which didn't come out clearly yet in the explanation, is the idea of countdown. An advent calendar is a countdown to Christmas, one day at a time. This is a countdown to Cueball's death. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.167|108.162.241.167]] 11:54, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

I was expecting that the alt text would say "'''Your life may be shorter if you eat all of the chocolate'''". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.148|108.162.241.148]] 14:25, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

I don't know about the USA, but in the UK, advent calendars may contain chocolate, but many just show a picture (related to either the Christian or the commercial aspects of Christmas). I'm going to change the description slightly to make that clear. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 17:10, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

:Yes, I would normally get the chocolate ones from my parents. One year my grandmother gave me one with just pictures inside. I was '''not''' amused. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.148|108.162.241.148]] 20:18, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Why on earth would it seem strange for 4 to be included in "a few"? It seems perfectly natural to me. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.249|198.41.243.249]] 23:43, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1575: Footprints

2015-09-09T08:46:05Z

198.41.243.249:

I know a lot about the poem this is referencing as it was my deceased grandmothers favourite. However I am omitting myself from making any changes other than putting in the poem it is referencing and the most brief of explanations to begin so someone with less emotional bias can fix formatting and improve wording. The poem can be found here: http://www.onlythebible.com/Poems/Footprints-in-the-Sand-Poem.html [[User:Squirrel killer-|Squirrel killer-]] ([[User talk:Squirrel killer-|talk]]) 06:01, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

Should we address that AT-ST' nickname is "chicken Walker"? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.249|198.41.243.249]] 08:46, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

1561: Water Phase Diagram

2015-08-07T09:41:11Z

198.41.243.249: /* Related comics */

{{comic
| number = 1561
| date = August 7, 2015
| title = Water Phase Diagram
| image = water_phase_diagram.png
| titletext = Vanilla Ice was produced in small quantities for years, but it wasn't until the 90s that experimenters collaborated to produce a sample that could survive at room temperature for several months.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Ethion of scientific detail required.}}

This is a modified version of the {{w|phase diagram}} for water. A "phase diagram" is a chart that shows the states, or "phases", that a substance will be in under various temperatures and pressures. Water's phases are particularly well-studied; on a [http://ergodic.ugr.es/termo/lecciones/water1.html real phase diagram for water], there are a great many phases listed.

Most people are familiar with three phases of water—solid, liquid, and gas—and with the fact that an increase in temperature will cause water to change from one state to another. The gas and liquid phases ("water vapor" and "liquid water") are quite straightforward; however, there is in fact not one single solid phase of water ("ice"), but a variety of numbered phases ("ice I" through "ice XV" are currently recognized), several of which are divided into sub-categories. Ordinary, everyday ice is known as "ice I<sub>h</sub>" ("ice one-h"). Most of the more unusual forms of ice only form under very high pressures.

Randall's phase diagram starts out realistically, though slightly simplified in several ways. For one, it simply uses the name "ice" for the usual form(s). It is focused in on a narrower area than the more complete diagram linked earlier; on that version, the "ice V" region is quite small, and "ice III" is barely visible, whereas both are quite plain to see on Randall's diagram. Lastly, Randall has the pressure scale increase downwards (probably so that the jokes are at the bottom), where most phase diagrams have pressure increase upwards.

As the diagram continues downwards and the pressure increases, the jokes begin. Beyond the moderately high-pressure forms of ice (ice II, III and V), a real phase diagram has ice VI; Randall has "{{w|Vanilla Ice}}" (the name of a white rap/hip-hop artist from the 1990s). Vanilla Ice's biggest hit, "Ice Ice Baby", used samples from the earlier song "Under Pressure", by David Bowie and Queen; accordingly, on Randall's diagram, the "Vanilla Ice" region transitions to "David Bowie & Queen" when it is under (even higher) pressure.

Further references to "Ice Ice Baby" are found in the title text. Near the beginning of the song, Vanilla Ice raps the line, "All right stop, collaborate and listen". The unusual choice of "collaborate" in this line has made it memorable, and the word is used in the title text (in a more typical context). The phrase "survive at room temperature for several months" is likely a reference to "Ice Ice Baby" being Vanilla Ice's only major hit, humorously suggesting he faded out of the public view after a few months of fame. Finally, even the word "sample" may be deliberately chosen as a reference to the sampling of "Under Pressure".

Lastly, another image is faintly visible just below and to the right of the "Water Vapor" label. It appears to be a real phase diagram for water. It is unclear why this image is present in the picture; it may be some sort of hidden message, or perhaps an error.

===Related comics===
Randall has referenced "Ice Ice Baby" and "Under Pressure", separately and together, on many previous occasions, notably in [[159: Boombox]].

The [[what if?]] that was current at the time of this comic's publication was [http://what-if.xkcd.com/138/ 138: Jupiter Submarine], which began with an even more fanciful phase diagram: that of a submarine.
It also contains a reference to the songs "Under Pressure" and "Ice Ice Baby" in one figure.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1484: Apollo Speeches

2015-04-13T18:08:59Z

198.41.243.249:

[http://watergate.info/1969/07/20/an-undelivered-nixon-speech.html Speech] for reference[[User:Blawho|Blawho]] ([[User talk:Blawho|talk]]) 06:40, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Any chance the scenario with extra astronauts coming back is a reference to Scott Card's Xenocide, in the book they find a way for FTL travel but some odd things happen on the first voyage including extra people coming back ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenocide#Outside click if you're not afraid of spoilers])? {{unsigned ip|188.114.98.29}}

The scenario that the spacecraft was sold for scrap might be a reference to the apolo having a fire during a training and trapping the asyronauts inside. {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.127}}

Probably it could also be a reference to Tarkowski's movie "Solaris"? {{unsigned ip|141.101.92.93}}

:: It's also similar to the premise of the comic ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chimpanzee_Complex The Chimpanzee Complex]''. Probably just a coincidence, though. – [[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 17:06, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Anyone remember the Saturday Night Live skit with Dana Carvey as Tom Brokaw recording contingency broadcasts reporting on Gerald Ford's death from more and more unlikely circumstances (including one where Brokaw was told to add, "and also, I'm gay", because "If that happens, you don't want another reporter to get the scoop!") [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 17:55, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

"there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind" has to be a reference to the Rupert Brooke poem ''The Soldier'', which Safire no doubt knew. It begins "If I should die, think only this of me:/That there's some corner of a foreign field/That is forever England." {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.219}}
:Maybe, but that would not be a reference in the context of the comic, since the first two pages are from the actual speech. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 23:19, 9 February 2015 (UTC)
::Exactly, it's a reference that Safire was making in writing the speech.[[User:Silverpie|Silverpie]] ([[User talk:Silverpie|talk]]) 18:15, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

You know, technically Apollo 11 probably had enough delta-v to make it into Mars orbit - the service module alone had around 2.8 km/s - although I don't know if there was a point in the actual mission where you could have made this work. Nobody would have survived the trip, of course. [[User:Ijkcomputer|Ijkcomputer]] ([[User talk:Ijkcomputer|talk]]) 15:33, 10 February 2015 (UTC)
:According to [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Delta-Vs_for_inner_Solar_System.svg/500px-Delta-Vs_for_inner_Solar_System.svg.png this chart] they could have maybe gotten a Mars intercept, but using simple Hohmann transfers, there is no way the Apollo spacecraft would have been able to make Mars orbit. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.249|198.41.243.249]] 18:08, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

So, the contigency speech for the capsule killing the President implies that the astronauts survived - would this be even remotely possible? I'm not sure what order of magnitude of velocity or momentum the capsule would have on impact, but I would think water would be a softer landing than a ship(?), and impact with the ship would not be accounted for... Wouldn't it damage the contents of the capsule (kill the astronauts), if not tear the whole thing apart? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:28, 16 February 2015 (UTC)
:I think the astronauts would probably actually survive this. Battered and bruised, certainly, possibly even with a few broken bones. But they would be alive. Descent velocity (from what I could figure out via Google) would be roughly 20 km/h to 25 km/h, and an impact at that speed (shown by a very large number of car crashes) is definitely survivable. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.249|198.41.243.249]] 18:08, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

As a side comment, "an unholy zeal for recycling programs" is probably the best phrase I've ever read. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.117|108.162.221.117]] 13:49, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

There was an incomplete tag on this comment stating that "more in depth discussion is needed". Without a specific point at which the discussion is incomplete, this struck me as too vague and not really solvable (or clear what is even missing). I removed the tag. If someone wants to put it back, please go ahead, although I'd request that a more specific reason and/or description of what part of the explanation is lacking be given. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:53, 13 March 2015 (UTC)